Electric furnaces utilizing flexible graphite cloth material as heaters have been disclosed in the prior art and particularly in U.S. Pat. No. 3,525,795. Heaters constructed of this material are generally useful in furnaces in which a reducing atmosphere or a high vacuum is present. It has heretofore been the practice when using flat graphite heaters to support them within the furnace by means of clamping bars drawn together by bolts with the graphite cloth mechanically secured between the clamping bars. Such arrangements make the installation of new heating units time consuming and difficult by virture of the fact that it is necessary to simultaneously secure the clamping bars and the graphite cloth while tightening the holding bolts.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,525,795 is specifically directed to a tubular graphite cloth heating unit for use in an electric furnace which avoids the disadvantages set forth above with respect to attaching the heater unit to the supports but requires that the heater unit be in a tubular form rather than the more preferred flat cloth configuration. Also the support element for the tubular heater does not lend itself to provide mechanical support for and electrical connection to the heater at locations spaced from the ends of the heater.